saltationism

[ sal-tey-shuh-niz-uhm ]

nounBiology.
  1. any of several theories holding that the evolution of species proceeds in major steps by the abrupt transformation of an ancestral species into a descendant species of a different type, rather than by the gradual accumulation of small changes.

Origin of saltationism

1
First recorded in 1970–75; saltation + -ism

Other words from saltationism

  • sal·ta·tion·ist, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024